Students travel from Russia to compete in chess tournament
Young chess players from St. Petersburg, Russia, are joining others from Illinois, Nebraska, Missouri and local players for the Second Intercontinental Scholastic and Club Team Championships in McPherson and Lindsborg this weekend.
The competition is jointly sponsored by the Anatoly Karpov International School of Chess, International Education and Cultural Services, The U.S. Chess Federation and the Kansas Scholastic Chess Federation and will bring together young players who will compete in four-person teams divided by age.
“This exciting tournament will provide a chance for both the students from St. Petersburg and the students from the United States to meet in a friendly international competition,” said Mikhail Korenman, one of the tournament organizers.
The students have devoted a great deal of time studying chess. One 11 year old girl, Svetlana Tishova, said she’s been playing chess for six years.
The Russian students stopped in Chicago before embarking to McPherson and were surprised to see the standard of living enjoyed by the middle class in America, compared to St. Petersburg, which is one of the more affluent Russian cities.
“(I) visited many countries, but America is a different world,” said 16 year old Sergey Sememoka (via translator). “I really enjoyed visiting the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.”
Full article here.
This is such a great idea.